Kelly Slater Wins 50th ASP World Tour Event

Mick Fanning drops out in semifinals

Kelly Slater snagged his 50th World Tour win on Thursday, edging out Australian Joel Parkinson at the Hurley Pro at Trestles. The 40-year-old surfer, who won his first World Tour event in 1992, trailed Parkinson into the final before switching to a four-fin board and taking the lead. "I know I went out there feeling like I didn't have anything to lose because Parko was the form guy," Slater said. The competition, held near San Clemente, California, is Slater's second win in the past three events, and puts him in third place in the tour standings behind Parkinson and fellow Aussie Mick Fanning.

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Rogue Wave Hits Couple, Killing Husband

Elderly pair dragged out to sea

An elderly American couple was dragged out to sea after being hit by a giant wave while walking along a Baja California beach in Los Cabos, Mexico. The husband, 72-year-old Ted Park, drowned in the incident, according to an Associated Press report. A navy boat discovered his body about 800 yards from where the wave initially hit. Park’s wife, 66-year-old Shinae, survived but suffered spinal injuries and respiratory problems as a result. The couple was visiting from Walnut Creek, California. Due to privacy concerns, the U.S. State Department would not release any information beyond confirming that a U.S. citizen had been killed. According to State Department statistics, 51 U.S. citizens have drowned in Mexico over the last two years.

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Park Service Defends Refusal to Use Wolves to Thin Elk

Wildlife advocates support wolves in RMNP

The National Park Service defended it's elk-management policy in Rocky Mountain National Park before a federal court of appeals on Thursday. In a hearing, wildlife advocacy group WildEarth Guardians argued that the Park Service failed to seriously consider the option of reintroducing wolves to the park. The park has a large elk population with few natural predators. The group unsuccessfully sued the NPS in 2008, at the start of the park's elk-thinning program, saying that recruiting volunteers to shoot elk was tantamount to hunting, a practice banned in National Parks. The judge upheld the policy, and WildEarth Guardians has appealed to the 10th Circuit. Government officials have argued that reintroducing wolves to the area would be too costly and too dangerous.